"Avery, I hurt my toe," Leonie says, blowing cold air on the injured toe.
Avery almost admires Leonie's ability to switch demeanors and moods as she sees fit.
"She's a gifted actress," Avery thinks with a sigh.
"Your toe is none of my concern," Avery responds acidly, "I'm asking you what you're doing in my bedroom."
Avery wants to grab Leonie and throw her out of the room, but she can't open the door for fear that Evan will come barging in.
"I misplaced something, and I couldn't find it anywhere," Leonie said evasively, "So I thought I'd try my luck in here."
"Why would your item be in my bedroom?" Avery asks with a questioning look.
"Sometimes things have a way of appearing where you least expect them," Leonie said with a smirk.
Avery ignores the taunt in Leonie's words.
"What is it?" she asks.
"A swan stud," Leonie replies.
"What's wrong with your toes?"
"I accidentally hit the edge of the dresser," Leonie says with a little shrug.
Suddenly they hear noises outside the door. Though the walls are thick and filled with sound-proofing materials, they can still hear the sounds of muffled voices. Though everything sounds filtered, Evan's voice is clearly audible.
"What's going on out there?" Leonie asks, applying ointment from a first aid kit to her injured toes. She finishes with her first aid and stands up, "I'll take a look."
"Don't go!" Avery exclaims.
She grabs Leonie's arm and tugs.
"Why?" Leonie says with feigned curiosity, "Clearly, something is going on in the hall."
Leonie can put two and two together. She can only assume that Evan opened the bottle of laced wine she sent. The aphrodisiac must be kicking in, and he's looking for Avery in a l.u.s.tful frenzy. Avery knows this and has run to her room to hide and protect her pregnancy—she's even locked the door to protect herself from Evan's strong desires. Leonie feels a thrill run through her body.
On the other side of the door, Robert and a team of bodyguards try to stop Evan. "Sir, wake up, you'll hurt Mrs. Howel," Robert says.
He has no idea who drugged Evan, but the stuff is potent. Evan is behaving like a crazed beast.
"Knock me out!" Evan roars, clenching his fists so hard the blue veins seem to bulge and burst, "Do you hear me? I want you to knock me out!"
"But," Robert hesitates.
"She's probably pregnant!" Evan hisses.
Though he feels himself losing control, his last shred of sanity tells him that he can't hurt Avery. He knows he may not be the father, but the thought of causing her any kind of harm is alien to him.
Robert feels deeply conflicted. On the one hand, he agrees that Avery's pregnancy should be protected at all costs; on the other hand, he can't hit his boss and knock him out. As he dwells on the problem and ponders what he should do, his head begins to hurt. He wishes someone would just knock him out, so he doesn't have to deal with the problem. Before he can decide on a course of action, Dr. Walters appears.
Three bodyguards rush for Evan and try to restrain him, but Evan's physical strength is not to be underestimated. Half mad with animal l.u.s.t, Evan flings them away from him. Two of them fall down the stairs, and one guy flying over the handrail. Robert charges toward Evan and calls for more bodyguards to help him. It takes multiple men and several minutes of struggle before they manage to pin Evan down.
Dr. Walters immediately pulls out a needle and stabs it into one of Evan's bursting veins. The syringe quickly fills with blood. Dr. Walters inserts the blood into a portable machine and waits for the results. Evan struggles and rages the whole time. The machine beeps, and the doctor frowns deeply upon seeing the results.
"It's a strong RH9 aphrodisiac," he announces, "It's not lethal. But he needs to have intercourse."
Dr. Walters looks around, hoping to see Avery.
"How about sedatives?" Robert blurts out.
"That won't work," Dr. Walters says gravely, "It will temporarily calm him, but it won't fix the problem. Besides, he'd need an incredibly high dose of sedative to counteract the aphrodisiac, and I'm afraid the different drugs could have an adverse reaction with each other."
"There has to be some other way," Robert implores, "How about using hands or props?"
The bodyguards glance at each other with sly smirks. Everyone knows that Robert has been single for a long time, and his knowledge of self-pleasure amuses them. They won't let him forget about this comment. Evan seizes on their temporary distraction and forcefully shoves them away. He leaps to his feet and begins to search the rooms of the house.
His body is on fire, and his very blood seems to scorch his veins. He's as hard as he's ever been, and he's lost all remaining scraps of sanity. He wants her, badly. He can't think of anything but taking her. He has never wanted anything as desperately as he wants to f.u.c.k her.
Robert knows that Evan will hold him responsible if anything wrong happens to Avery. He rushes to her room to warn her. He knocks on the door and shouts her name.
"Mrs. Howel, Robert, here," he shouts, "Don't open the door. Evan can't control himself, and he's looking for you. Hide quickly! And whatever you do, don't open the door for him!"
Robert is afraid that a door won't stop Evan. He's seen Evan's strength firsthand, and the drug seems to have increased it.
"Hide?" Avery asks anxiously.
She has to put her ear to the door to hear Robert's words. Once she understands what he's saying, she feels overwhelmed by despair. She desperately wants to find Evan and help him.
"But can I really do that?" Avery asks herself, "I'm bearing Evan's child. Our child. Evan may not believe that he's the father of the child, but he may learn the truth someday. If I go out there and lose the child, he will be devastated when he discovers what he's done."
She quickly glanced around the room, looking for a place to hide. There are three options: the bathroom, the changing room, and the closet. None of them are ideal.
"Avery, what's happening?" Leonie asks with fake concern, "Why does Robert want you to hide?"
Leonie is standing by the dresser so she can't hear Robert's words, but she can guess what's going on. Avery repeats what Robert said, and Leonie fights the urge to smile. She can't believe the aphrodisiac is working as well as it is.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this," Avery mutters, "It's none of your business!"
Avery looks out on the balcony and thinks about hiding out there, but she quickly decides it's too dangerous. Her room is on the third floor, and Evan seems out of control. If she accidentally fell from the balcony, it could be fatal.
"I can't believe this," Leonie says, "I have to take a look for myself."
"Don't!" Avery screams.
She spins around and lunges across the room to stop Leonie, but she's too late. The door is already swinging open. A cool breeze enters the room, carrying the scent of wine.
An aggressive man stands in the door. His shirt has been ripped to shreds, and the muscles of his chest are taut and dripping with sweat. His hair is drenched and messy, but his eyes are sharp and full of animal ferocity. He looks like a predator hunting its prey. His gaze locked onto Avery, and he moves toward her with terrifying speed. The usual warmth in his expression is gone—his face is a mask of intense, uncontrollable desire. Avery trembles.
"Come, come and knock out off!" Robert screams.
Incapacitating Evan is a desperate move, but it's the only available option.
"No!" Avery roars in desperation.
She feels wretched with guilt. Evan is clearly in agony, and she wants nothing more than to help him. She can't bear to watch them beat him senseless. She feels a horrible weight in her body, and tears begin to drop from her eyes.